Welcome to Dying: One Namek's Struggles
by Elieare
Summary: Takes place after Piccolo is sent to Hell, it is simply the strugles and adventures of Piccolo as he deals with existing in Hell. Also, a new threat that could destroy the Earth, can the living warriors stop it, or is the key to victory stuck in Hell?
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: sigh no, I do not own Dragon Ball Z, although I have to say I would love to, but I don't so I allow my imagination with the DBZ characters to run rampant here in the comfort of fellow fans and not on world wide television. Oh and half of the title is inspired by the Blind Guardian song, Welcome to Dying.

_Yeah new fanfic, I'm one of those people whole reads seven books at once and I'm no different with writing stories because I just get distracted with other ideas and have to write them, my updating will be sporadic because of this but and the fact that I have very difficult classes with very time-consuming homework assignments, but I'll try my hardest. Enjoy!_

WELCOME to DYING: ONE NAMEK'S STRUGGLES in the BOWELS of HELL INTRODUCTION: the TREACHEROUS CONSIQUENCES 

Piccolo pulled out of his light meditation, it had to be a light meditation, less he be jumped by his many enemies, and uneasily got to his feet. His muscles screamed with pain, who would have imagined such pain could be so predominate in death? Then again, he was in Hell. Hell, he never thought he would spend the eternity of his afterlife within the depths of this place, but here he was. "_Goku_," he thought, "_I hope this sacrifice was worth it_." Hew thought back to his reckless decisions that lead him to be doomed to Hell and allowed him to free Goku from his unjust imprisonment in this place. The thought of where he would be had he not done that tantalized his brain but he quickly dismissed it, knowing that in the end… he would not have done things different. "_Kami, how I've changed_," he thought, "_born to destroy Goku and turn Earth into a living nightmare as ordered by Daimoa, and here I am, in Hell after bring changed by my nemesis' son and rotting in this place to liberate the very one I was born to kill_." He growled at his nostalgia, "_huh, I've gotten soft……… I wonder who will try to torment me today," _he grimaced at that thought, he was enjoying the steady and insane power increase but he wouldn't mind if there was a less… tortuous way to do it. "_Ha! Who am I kidding, I'm in Hell, pain is what it is made for, and gaining strength is something I've always craved, snort I may even be able to give Goku a run for his money the way this was heading_."

He inspected the wounds he received from the previous day's run in with Kid Buu. For the millionth time he blessed his Namekian regeneration abilities. Where he had been impaled though the stomach was still raw and bleeding, but it certainly looked and felt better than when he got it. The _chi _burns on his hands were almost non-existent, his cracked ribs were no longer tender, and the slew of minor injuries were completely gone. His muscles cramped and ached still, it was not surprising though, he had been engaging in high-powered, high-speed and high-adrenaline battles every day for the past two months with only a minuscule amount of rest in between them, he would run himself into the ground if he was not careful. Not that it mattered; in this place, his soul could not be destroyed. However, he'd rather not flirt with losing his sanity, something that would surely happen if he did not find a way to rest soon. Was that even possible? Could he find peaceful and blissful rest in Hell? Unlikely, it would take intervention from the gods to find that, and they had long forsaken him. No, there would be no help for him; he had to do this himself. He felt two familiar _chis_ heading right towards him, he smirked, "Well, if it isn't the dwarf and the bio-engineered insectoid freak," he said to himself. "_I wonder if I can even handle these clowns, not likely in the shape I'm in_," a dark thought came afterwards. He removed his cape and turban and prepared himself for this battle. As he expected, Frieza, in his final form, and Cell, in his Perfect form, appeared before him, already blazing with fighting _chi_ and throttling towards him to attack. Piccolo dodged the frontal take of a combined _chi_ blast of the two, then sprang from the cliff he was on and landed a solid dragon kick (it's kind of like a jumping front kick for those of you who haven't had kung fu lessons) on the middle of Frieza's chest, sending the miniature tyrant careening backwards and slamming into an opposing rock face. Cell's pointed tail made a stab for the Namek's chest; Piccolo grabbed the leech's appendage and used it to toss him right into the monster's evil comrade and causing the mountain to collapse down upon them.

Piccolo winced as a muscle cramp racked through the arm he tossed Cell with, "_Not good, I think I tore a the tendon, I need to end this, now_." He put two fingers to his forehead, collected _chi_ at a rate he'd never thought possible before he joined the hordes of the damned souls and fired his signature Special Beam Canon at the rubble, he was surprised and gasped as the veins that coursed with his _chi_ _blew_ up, rendering the arm useless and dripping with blood, "_Argh, I've pushed my body too hard_." He felt his opponents' _chi_ disappear and saw their souls, almost shapeless masses of black swirls, drift off and squirm to the Pit, where their bodies would be reassembled and the soul reintegrated. Piccolo panted, literally drained of _chi_, "_It's worse than I thought_." One of the bad things about being very tolerant to pain and extremely stubborn against the outcries of his body was that he often found that things like this always snuck up on him because he had trained himself to ignore all the warning signs. "_I need to go into hiding_," he started to fly away from the scene, it was attracting the attention of other "fans" of his and he didn't feel like becoming target practice, however his _chi_ sputtered and he crashed into the cliff he had meditated on, his legs gave out and he found himself on his back sprawled out and gasping for breath.

"It's no fun when they are all after you is it?" A familiar dark voice taunted, one very similar to Piccolo's own voice. Piccolo did his best to spring to his feet and glare at the green man, "Shut up old man, I didn't ask you did I?"

"Ha, no, I asked you." Daimao retorted.

Piccolo sneered, "Think you're funny? I could easily take you out, just as I did those two," he pointed to the two souls skittering away at a painstakingly slow pace.

Daimao let loose a spine-shivering cackle. Piccolo sensed Daimao transport behind him but his body could not adhere to his reflexes. Piccolo gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and his father's fist tore through his back, drilled through his rib cage and pierced his right lung. Daimao whispered into Piccolo's ear, "I could help you, I could demand the respect you deserve and we could rule, and you could take revenge on them, everyone of them."

Piccolo tried to laugh, but it was gargled from the fist in his lung, but he managed to rasp, "I don't need you to do anything old man, and I don't think your idea of ruling Hell and my idea of ruling Hell are the same, so if you would be so kind as to remove your arm I'll consider not ripping it from its socket."

"Hmph, big words, I'd like to see you act on it," his father dragged his fist downwards.

Piccolo clenched his teeth, a hiss escaping him, and then he swung his head backwards, smacking his unsuspecting sire in the face and stunning him. Piccolo pulled forward, grabbed Daimao's arm and made good of his threat, removing it from his back as well, and he threw it to the ground and spat on it, "Go back to your snug little throne in whatever forsaken hole it resides in," he began walking away, it took all he could not to stagger and fall on his face.

Behind him, Daimao released a vicious string of curse complete with foul language, and finished in an ominous tone, "You will join me Ma Junior, you can count on it," and with that, the Demon Lord left.

Piccolo collapsed again, the wounds from Buu, his own body's rebellion, and Daimao's added hand in the matter crashing down upon him. The bleak scenery blurred in front of him, "_Crap, I don't want to go back to the Pit… huh, Nappa and Raditz are heading right for me, no doubt taking advantage of my weakness, urg, I can't even move anymore. Wait who is that? North Kai? No, it can't be_…" Piccolo's world drifted and fading into varying colours until it was all darkness.

_Ta-da, there we go, that's the intro, I hope it's intriguing. Please send me a review; I always love feedback from readers._

_Elieare_


	2. Chapter 1 Reprieve

**Disclaimer: I own a lot of homework loaded onto me by my teacher's who believe I am only taking their class but sadly, but obviously, I do not own DBZ, although I would take rights to that over the homework in a heartbeat.**

Okay this chapter is going to pretty short I am juggling two other fanfics and homework enough to bury me, and I have to renew my license this week, an affair that will last ALL evening I'm sure, so sorry, but I try.

CHAPTER 1: REPRIEVE 

Piccolo woke up and was surprised to see… yellow clouds? He got up, his body protested, he ignored it, same old routine, but then it wasn't, "_Where am I_?" "Gee Piccolo, you look like Hell," a familiar voice joked behind him and snorted with laughter at his cheesy wisecrack. Piccolo stood and glared at the blue lord of the Northern Quadrant, "How did you get me here? Isn't this Snake Way?" King Kai adjusted his tiny sunglasses, "Yes, I teleported you here." "Is that even possible?" "Of course," the self-proclaimed king of jokers replied, "I am a god after all." Piccolo looked at the halo over the god, "_Right, a _dead_ god_," he thought but verbalized another question, "But how? King Enma sentenced me to Hell, and I can't imagine he approved my release." "He doesn't even know I brought you here." It took all the Namek had not to allow his disbelief to show on his face. "… Well, okay, but why?"

"First, let's get you cleaned up," the blue god's antennae glowed. Piccolo felt a rush of relief wash over him as his body was completely healed, his energy replenished and his tattered gi fixed, all things he could've done himself under different circumstances but had not been able to, and all things he had not experienced since he was first trapped in Hell. "Good, that's better," king Kai smiled, "Now I brought you here for two reasons: one, so your health can be replenished and you can have more productive training in Hell, and two, to offer you a new technique. Now the first one is already done but, before I teach you the second there is still a test you must-" "I'm not telling you a joke," Piccolo cut him of flatly. King Kai bristled, "Hmph, and after all the trouble I went through I don't even get a thank you." Silence. King Kai was obviously waiting for the Namek's gratitude but the green warrior simply crossed his arms across his chest and glared. "……… Well fine, I suppose you're the only one who can use this technique so I might as well teach it to you, but you still owe me a joke sometimes." "Unlikely," Piccolo said under his breath.

"Now, before I give you this power, you need to understand all the things that come with it. You see there is another way for a soul to come back to life, without the aide of the magical Dragon balls or the transference of the life of a live being to a dead one. There is a test, a long grueling test that almost none are offered and only one has passed. Ah, but passing this test is not enough, you must also rid the universe of some great evil, much like killing a tyrant like Frieza, and use that soul to in a sense, to replace you in Hell. There is a being that freely wanders the universe that defies all logic and lives off the fear and hatred of others and dark power. After the outburst of dark power from the dark star Dragon balls, it has set its sights on Earth. It currently has plenty of energy supply from a planet it has attached itself to, but I can guarantee that the moment it sucks that well dry it will head directly for Earth, which will be roughly in six months." "So? I'm sure Goku and the others can handle the monster." "No, they cannot. The reason this demon has roamed for so long is because no _chi_, physical or any other attack known can even touch the creature." "Then how am _I_ suppose to defeat it?" "Do you wish to take the Test of Rebirth and embark upon this task?" "… Do you really have to ask?" The blue god smiled, "No, but I feel you deserve to know, the technique you must learn could easily consume you if you let it." "But, if I do nothing, this monster will consume the Earth correct?" "Yes." "Then, the choice is obvious, teach me." "There is little I can do, except give the technique to you." Piccolo raised a questioning eyebrow. "The power can only be used by a demon, given your heritage you qualify for it, but I do not, so I don't know to use it, just how you can get it. Although even that is a little shaky, because you're the only demon I know who has rebuked their heritage and dedicated their life to defending from evil as you have." "What's that have to do with it?" "Well this is a very potent ability, in the wrong hands, it would bring much despair to the universe, so-" "You won't give it to anyone, I understand. How do I get it?"

King Kai removed an obsidian-like, inch thick plate and placed it into Piccolo's left hand, it was about the size of his palm; it was cold, far colder than ice. "Last chance," King Kai said. "Get on with it old man, I haven't the time for your overdramatic rubbish," came Piccolo's tart reply. The blue god smirked and placed one finger onto the plate then spoke words unintelligible to Piccolo. The plate glowed, furious red markings appearing on it; then the pain came. It was much worse than anything Piccolo had ever experienced, even in the place he had just come from, he was not sure if he doubled over or not, his mind was to frazzled by the powerful feeling. The voices came next, millions of whispers in his mind, a multitude of languages and dialects, the pain worsened and the sea of whispers grew until they were a tide of conversations and then a crashing tumult of thousands of people yelling, shouting. "ENOUGH!! SILENCE!!!!!!" Piccolo bellowed, unknown to him if it was only in his mind or if he had actually spoke. Then, it all subsided, and his vision cleared to show he had fallen to his knees. He gasped, his breath quick and shallow. He looked at his left hand, smoke was drifting from it, the obsidian plate gone, and in it's place, a marking, scarred into his skin, and remained. "A pentagram, and a number?" He asked, surprised out how weak his voice was. "They represent the power of the devil in certain religions, the pentagram, a star and the number of the beast, six-six-six." "So, it simply represents its dark origins," he stated more than asked as he got to his feet, slightly disoriented. "Yes," King Kai affirmed. "So what exactly is its power?" "To harness damned souls and turn their feelings of sorrow and hate into energy." "Damned souls? You mean like Frieza's or Cell's?" "No, they must be disembodied, like the ones that wander in the world of the living because they were killed by a demon, or the ones in the deepest part of Hell, and the ones that reside in the Bloody Pond." "What can I use it for?" "That you have to find out yourself, but it is said that the last one to have this used it to hunt down demons tormenting the living, summon creatures from the depths of Hell, form unbreakable shields and barriers of only damned souls, and even turn them into a physical manifestation of his choosing." "So someone has had it before me?" "Yes, he collected many souls." "Collected, so this thing actually absorbs souls?" The uncharacteristically serious god nodded. "Interesting," Piccolo scrutinized the mark in more detail. "About the test, what do I have to do?" "First, you must master that," he pointed to the symbol, "the _shookorthu_, the Death Hand, then you will be given a series of close to impossible tasks and missions, if you can pass them then you will finally be sent to Earth and wait for Shadow, and use the Death Hand to defeat and absorb him." "Shadow? That's the name of my enemy?" Another nod. "I'll keep it in mind." "Well, I think it's time for you to go back, oh, have a Hell-of-a-time," King Kai returned to his normal self, laughing at and pointing out his hopelessly tacky pun. Piccolo inwardly groaned.

_Well, what does everyone think? Too out there? Confusing? It's got potential? Send me reviews and I'll know… please? I'd like to thank those of you who have reviewed, on this one and my others, thank you, your support means more than you can ever imagine!!_

_Elieare_


	3. Chapter 2 the Death Hand

Disclaimer: I own very few things relating to this story, besides the Death Hand, isn't that the cheeriest thing I could ever own? Yeah the rest is someone else so sue me………not literally, really I've got no money, don't sue I was kidding… please?

_Ummm… will someone please read Perseverance? Pretty please? Reading this one is good enough though, it's just no one has reviewed that one…(anyone say shameless story-plugging?)_

Chapter 2: the DEATH HAND 

A small part of Piccolo despaired as the barren and desolate landscape of Hell replaced the yellow clouds. He looked at the markings on his hands again. It was odd, almost… _alive_. Eager to see how it worked, Piccolo headed for the Bloody Pond. He landed near it and was trying to decide how to go about using it when a very familiar chi suddenly appeared behind him. Piccolo sighed inwardly and thought, "I wish Cooler didn't know Instant Transmission." He turned and saw his enemy was in the state beyond what Frieza could achieve. "Ugh, well at least King Enma had had the sense not to send him as Metacooler, and only sent one," the thought of facing this tyrant was annoying enough, but to face a whole army of Metacoolers? The purple older brother of Freiza laughed, "Today Namek, I will reverse your current record and send you back into the Pit!" Piccolo snorted, "Not likely," and got into a low fighting stance.

Cooler used the Instant Transmission to go to Piccolo's back once more, only a foot away this time. Piccolo had anticipated the move though and instinctively spun around, his left hand at Cooler's throat, the dead warrior lifting his evil nemesis off the ground. Something odd happened then, Piccolo could see… _something_ clung to Cooler. They were grey swirling clouds, translucent in nature and seemingly formless, with only a telltale hint of an outline. "_What are those_?" "**Souls, damned souls killed by this being. They have attached themselves to him**." A deep and raspy voice replied in his head. Piccolo didn't have to ask who it was, he knew: it was the Death Hand. The thing told Piccolo to send _chi_ to his left hand; Piccolo did so. An odd sensation filled him, it felt as if his very mind was being sucked into the Death Hand, not just his chi. Now he saw why King Kai warned him about this, "If I'm not careful, this thing will drive me insane," a fleeting thought crossed Piccolo's brain. The souls that hung onto Cooler rushed to the Death Hand. Piccolo could see them, how they died, so many of them, all slain mercilessly by Cooler, all tortured by the creature he had grasped by the throat, some were children, some didn't even know what happened. His mind was clouded, overflowing, the same sensation that had hit him when King Kai gave him the Death Hand returned, the thousand of voices screaming in his mind, but this time, the were Cooler's victims. Piccolo had lost a grasp on the control of his own body, he could see the souls being absorbed into him and changing into a swelling mass of grey energy that haphazardly clung to his arm, unfocused and thrashing. The very life (well, as much life in a dead person as there is) looked like it was being drain from Cooler as well. At first, Piccolo didn't know why, but the Death Hand told him that touching the ghosts or not, they could be absorbed, but touch a live person or a dead soul still in his body, and even their chi could be absorbed as well.

Piccolo struggled against the Death Hand, he could feel his mind being further and further drawn into its darkness, then, all at once he regained control and stumbled back, relinquishing his hold on Cooler who slumped to the floor, his last transformation lost. A swirling mass of energy still surrounded Piccolo, it sent shivers down even the stoic Namek's mind, the energy was howling in a combination of rage and pain, thousands of featureless faces tumultuously bound within it. Cooler looked at this display of power, fear etched into his features, he backed away, then, not knowing anything else to do, he fled, forgetting about the Instant Transmission, he tried flying for the nearest mountain. Piccolo wasn't about to pass up this opportunity to test this new ability of his. He outstretched his arm, palm open and aimed, he just _knew_ how to use it, "Souls of the Damned," he yelled, the name of the attack coming to him automatically. The bound souls bursted from the confines Piccolo had place upon them and blasted everything in front of him. When the attack was done, and the smoke cleared, a crater three times larger than the one he created when he fired his extremely concentrated beam at Imperfect Cell was all that remained, Cooler had been blasted into oblivion. He saw the scum's soul wriggling for the Pit. He thought of absorbing Cooler, but decided against it, "_I do need a target, after all, that attack was powerful, but I had almost no control over it, that is not something I'll tolerate_. _This power though, it's… intriguing_."

…In the shadows, it's _chi_ suppressed, a small imp watched the scene, and upon seeing Piccolo's attack it scurried away to its master, unbeknownst to the Namek it had spied upon…

Piccolo felt the souls return to his hand, but this time, they did not swirl in a mass of energy, they lied dormant within him, recharging it seemed. "So they stick with me, eh?" Piccolo looked at the Bloody Pond, he could not see souls though, all he could see was, well, blood. The Death Hand spoke to him again, "You will not see the souls unless if you are touching the one who is carrying them or have invoked the Sight." Piccolo knew what he meant, he lifted his left hand to his eye and place to fingers on the closed lid, "Demon Eye," he whispered. His eye tingled and transformed. When he opened it he briefly caught his reflection, the whites of his eye was pitch black, and the pupil was only a blood-red outline with an also red reptilian-like slit down the middle. Piccolo turned his attention to movement that caught his eyes, he could see them none, billions of bodiless souls floating aimlessly amongst the pond. He stretched out his hand; palm faced down towards the souls, and sent energy to the Death Hand. It instantly sucked up souls as before and charged his arm, Piccolo struggled to gain control of it, and thus his training began…

_So sorry it's so short but I am in school so there's only so much I can do. Hoped you enjoyed!_

_Elieare _


	4. Chapter 3 Summoning

Disclaimer: No, I did not suddenly get rights to the DBZ characters in the midst of writing this story, nor will I ever.

_This may be the last new chappie for awhile cuz I've got finals, mid-terms and projects coming up so I'm not going to have a lot of time to write. Thanks goes out to hikosmymanfriend and Volcanic for reviewing the story so far, thanks, it means a lot!_

Chapter 3: Summoning 

Piccolo had been training non-stop for two weeks now. His body was tired and his mind was on the brink of giving in to the Death Hand, but he now had basic control over it. He had only a few visits from old foes, but they stopped, looking on from a distance, gathering information on this new technique of his and trying to come up with a way to overcome it. That was fine with Piccolo; he needed the time to himself anyways. He powered down the souls and easily got into his normally meditation position. He delved deep into his mind, hours passed, all the training with the Death Hand had severely fragmented his mind, he untangled the complex knots the souls had made and fastened new and stronger mental barriers. This was a long and tedious process, but necessary for him to keep his sanity. That done he asked the Death Hand, "_King Kai mentioned summoning monsters from the depths of Hell, how do I go about doing that?_" **"…You must travel to where their power is the strongest and defeat them on those grounds. If you can do that, they will infuse an orb into your hand and will do your bidding whenever you call them**." "Sounds easy enough." "**It will not be, the summon spirits here are much stronger than any foe you have faced**." "_Then, they'll be that more advantageous to have._ _How do I find them_?" "**You can scry them with a ghost**." Piccolo released one ghost from the Death Hand and told it to seek out a summon spirit and report back with its location. As the soul carried out its orders, Piccolo pulled back into meditation, this time going to the state as close as sleeping as he ever got.

The soul took nine ours to find the closest summon spirit and come back. Piccolo completed his meditation and headed for the demon's lair. The soul was able to locate the thing but give him little else, outside that it thought it was a fire demon. Indeed, he found himself flying over the Lake of Lava and straight for the Ever-raging Volcano. Near the base of the volcano, there was a gaping hole in its side that spiraled down, deep into the dark depths where no ray of light had ever reached, not even before the dawn of time itself. A putrid smell clung to the walls of the hole, a combination of fowl, rotting flesh, ashes, and noxious gases. Piccolo lowered himself into it, placing his right hand on a wall, and then jerking it back as the wall severely burned him. He flew carefully down, the darkness so absolute he could see nothing, but he did not want to run into the wall again, he could still feel the intense heat radiating off it. The tunnel was narrow and was getting even narrower as he got lower. An idea came to him, "Demon Eye," he said and it transformed, he no longer had to put two fingers on his left eyelid though. It worked, it was still extremely difficult to see, but he was no longer flying blind, and that's all that mattered. He felt like he was descending for hours and yet going nowhere. Then, he saw a faint glow up ahead. The closer he got to it, the hotter it got, until finally, he came upon an exit from the tunnel. It led to a massive cavern, a lava pit that covered about half of the floor the source of the glow that lit the area.

Something in the lava stirred, sensing the intrusion of a stranger. Its wings flared out, the first to break the surface of its lava bed. It lifted its horned head and all at once sprang from the pool; its dark flesh still dripping with the lava it was bathing in. It glared at the intruder with its flaming eyes and roared, the lava that was its spit dripped from its mouth, the boulder-sized ruby mounted on its forehead glowed as tongues of flame shot out at Piccolo, who was no larger than this demon's finger. Piccolo haphazardly dodged the oncoming flames, "_Good grief, this thing is enormous, how am I supposed to fight it_?" He shot off in the opposite direction as a taloned claw grabbed for him. Another pillar of flame shot from the things mouth, Piccolo did the best he could, but suppressed a cry as one of the flames scorched his chest and stomach. Piccolo activated the Death Hand to full capacity as it went to grab him again. He flung himself out of harm's way and placed his left hand onto the demon's arm. Its very skin burned Piccolo, but he kept his hand firmly on it and activated a special technique, "Souls of the Damned, Internal Carnage!" Souls from the Death Hand shot into the flame demon's veins coursing through its body and causing massive internal damage throughout the things body. It howled and pulled back a little, Piccolo flew behind the creature to avoid its angry thrashing, only to be winded by one of its wings as it spun violently around. Before Piccolo could fully recover, it was bringing is two hands together around him as one smashes a bug in a clapping motion with both hands. Piccolo tried to fly up, sticking his left hand over head in the hope he could create a force field before the attack hit. He didn't have the time. Piccolo could not suppress his cries this time as every bone below his neck except for his spinal cord was shattered, his internal organs and muscles cut up by broken bits of bone and smashed with the insane pressure the monster's two hands had created. In one move, the creature had incapacitated both of Piccolo's legs and one of his arms, caused internal damage that would have killed him had he not been dead and burned most of his skin with its scalding flesh.

It opened its mouth wide, forming a massive ball of super concentrated flames to finish Piccolo off and fired. Piccolo was prepared this time, he released many souls in front of him, "REFLECT!" The shield of ghosts bounced the flaming ball back right into the creature's mouth and out the other side, it cried and squirmed in pain but was not dead. On a hunch Piccolo flew right for the Ruby on the demon's forehead and poured all the souls he had collected into one attack, "Souls of the Damned, Piercing Canon!" The blast shattered the ruby in a dazzling display of grey and red. The monster screeched than explode harmlessly into a million pieces, reforming below him in a much small stone statue of the beast. A ruby no larger than a marble flew towards Piccolo and embedded itself into the back of his left hand. He had to squeeze his eyes shut and grind his teeth together as searing pain ensued from his hand to his elbow. The pain dulled and he saw that his forearm and arm was charred to the point it was a black crisp, and the ruby glowed. "**It is normal**," the Death Hand spoke, "**it is simply the process of your body accepting this power. Once the ruby stops glowing it will be calibrated to you in a sense and you can summon the demon with an offering of your own blood onto the ruby and the speaking of the words 'Son of fire and molten lava, I command thee to rise from the darkest depths of Hell and smite my enemies with your mighty inferno.**'" Piccolo listened and filed the information away. Then he forced himself to start leaving this fiery hole. The damage was sever and the two heavy uses of the Death Hand when he formed the shield then the blast taxed heavily upon his chi, he floated haphazardly, his knees scraping a side of the wall ever so often and burned his shins and knees.

It took twice as long as getting in, but he finally was out and by the erupting volcano. He flew away from the lava and as far as he could, then collapsed the only thing he could move was his head and his left shoulder and bicep. He was defenseless, and two Saiyan warriors that had been cheated out of revenge when King Kai had whisked him away were not about to pass the opportunity up. They quickly closed in and beat mercilessly on the Namek, who felt the full brunt of ever blow, especially to his chest, since he did not have enough of his ribcage intact to protect those organs. Then he noticed the ruby stop glowing. He sent what little _chi_ he had left to his left hand, sucking up souls off the two Saiyans without them realizing it and converted the souls into _chi_. Then he moved his shoulder so the ruby flopped into a pool of his own blood, and whispered the incantation. It sucked up the rest of his _chi_, Piccolo was able to stay conscious long enough only to see the demon appear and easily obliterate Raditz and Nappa, then erect a small force field around him. Then his eyes closed and his mind shut down what it could to focus on regeneration.

_There we go, I hope that was interesting. Like the fire demon?_

_Elieare _


	5. Chapter 4 Fire, Ice and the Hounds of

Disclaimer: Ahem If you are looking for someone who owns the rights to Dragon Ball Z go to or Google it, for you'll find none here.

_Okay, this will be another short chapter because I still have to study for my Electron Exam in Chemistry tomorrow, along with the Physical Evidence Exam in Criminal Investigations and my mid-term for History, but I'm procrastinating just for a while mind you._

Chapter 4: Fire, Ice and Hounds of the Underworld 

It had taken an entire week for Piccolo to heal, unheard of for a dead Namek, but his wounds were severe. He was glad that the fire demon and raised the shield, he would not have been able to defend himself had it not. Now though, he was feeling stronger than ever, he had the sinking suspicion the Death Hand had heightened his regenerative abilities, but even if it hadn't it was certainly allowing him to power up much more rapidly than any conventional training he could think of. He was a little weary of this though, if it grew too rapidly, he would lose control of it… for now things were fine though, and he turned his eye on the next demon he could defeat and add to his summons list. He sent another ghostly scout out, and it returned within a couple of hours like the last had. He headed out for it.

He had been flying over ice for a while now, a bitter cold wind whipping against his face with intense ferocity. The winds turned into a harsh blizzard, which killed Piccolo's visibility again, but the Demon Eye would not help him this time. Nonetheless, he pushed onwards until he found himself suddenly within a huge cavern, which on closer inspection revealed it was a hollowed glacier. It reeked of death, as the volcanic tunnel did. There was a huge chasm in the middle of the glacier, it was pitch black, he could not even pierce the darkness with his eye, but he could feel it, the demon was down there. He jumped into the pit without a second thought. Piccolo free-fell for what seemed like an hour, and then came to a sudden and screeching halt as an icy floor suddenly appeared before him.

Piccolo heard the attack only a fraction of a second before it hit him. His stomach felt like it would jump from his throat as a hard frozen blob as the swinging tail of the creature hit him in the abdomen. He instinctively put his hand there and found ice, running from his midsection to his chest. Another attack came, this time he jumped to avoid it, only to have sharp talons dig into his back create for long gashes that froze over as well. "It's fast, I can't sense its chi either, then again, I couldn't sense the fire demons, wait, that's it." Piccolo bit his right thumb until it started to bleed, then smeared the purplelish-blue liquid onto the ruby and spoke the summoning phrase. The fire demon burst before him, illuminating much of the area. Piccolo saw the creature, it resembled and iguana, but was the size of the fire demon's arm and could alternate from standing upright and on all fours. Its colour was fleece white, even its eyes were white. On its forehead, a sapphire was mounted. It blasted a spray of ice from its mouth, the fire demon countered, but the two were equal, so the attacks canceled each other out. The two demons began fighting, forgetting about Piccolo, The Namek charged the Death Hand and, when his foe was distracted by the fire demon he moved in and fired the Piercing cannon at the sapphire. His aim was dead on, but it had no effect. He didn't have time to block as its tail pummeled him into the ground.

Piccolo was not sure, but he may have lost consciousness for a moment, maybe more, no matter, when he pulled himself from the crater, broken ribs complaining, he saw that the two demons were in a deadlock, but it wasn't looking good for the fire demon, it was out of its element after all, and the ice was in it. He needed to think of something, fast. Suddenly, it came to him. With his left hand he placed two fingers on his forehead and gathered the chi for a familiar attack, then he poured souls from the Death Hand into it, and when the opening was made as the ice demon went to finish off the fire demon, Piccolo cut lose of his new attack, "Death Hand: Special Beam Ghost Cannon!" An enormous amount of super concentrated energy exploded from his fingertips, the familiar chi blast surround by another spiraling chi blast appeared, but the hue was grey, and there was a third chi blast that spiraled in the opposite direction of the second. This time, when the beam connected, it pierced it as well. The creature cried out and exploded, much as the fire demon had, and it formed a crystal clear statue. A shard of the sapphire flew into the back of Piccolo's hand and positioned itself near the ruby. Intense pain shot up to Piccolo's arm again, and it dangled to his side, useless and frozen. "What are the terms for this one?" "**The same, your own blood and this incantation: Ruler of the Icy wasteland, come forth from the frozen depths that have become so many souls' tomb and crush thy enemy with your cold heart**."

Piccolo had long left the frozen wasteland and was leisurely strolling through what had been dubbed, "Dead Man's Crypt", for thousand of souls clung to every bit of the landscape, walls, floor, ceiling and sometimes any who dared to pass. The souls had never bothered the Namek though, and he found it an, eerie, but good place to meditate for no one bothered him here, no one came there after all. He was deep within his meditation, forming new mental barriers to accommodate the freshly acquired demon and souls he had absorbed (every time Piccolo learned a new attack or gained another demon he found that the amount of souls he could contain increased). However, he was not alone this time.

_Here I would like to pause and warn the readers that this next part will be graphic, so if you don't take well to violence skip to the next italicized part_.

Piccolo planted his feet firmly on the ground and glared at a warrior he'd never seen before. The thing was obviously a demon, its, scaly black skin, scarlet eyes, menacing claws and horns, grey hair and draconian-like wings and tail exuding this fact. "What is it that you want?"

The demon scrutinized Piccolo, sizing him up, then walked so that he was only an inch away from Piccolo.

His voice hissed, "My master is awakening, after centuries of slumber, he has reacted to something, something in which one of my imps says you have."

"Oh? And-"

Piccolo was cut off as, without warning, the creature impaled the Namek's stomach with his hand. Piccolo swung at the demon, it pulled back, yanking out Piccolo's innards with him. The green warrior stifled a grunt and grabbed his opponents arm, twisting it clean off from its shoulder socket and to the floor. The thing howled in pain, and Piccolo haphazardly tried to shove his disembodied internal organs back in with his one good arm. He was partly successful, but was locked into combat with the demon before he could do an adequate job. The two fought for fifteen minutes then broke apart; both were injured, out of breath, and low on energy. The demon suddenly howled again, falling onto one knee and gripped his head.

"Yes master, I understand!" It cried. Then it slowly rose, "My master says that I am to leave you be, for now. But know this, we will be back, and we will take the Death Hand from you."

With a puff of black smoke, it was gone, but an ominous feeling lingered in the air, something was watching Piccolo, and he had a feeling it would be watching him for quite a bit longer…

_Who is this frightful demon that has slumbered long in the depths of Hell want with the Death Hand? Can Piccolo stand up to it? Or has he been forced to take on more than he can handle? Okay, I really do have to study, please review, it's very helpful!_

_Elieare_


	6. Chapter 5 Striking Back

Disclaimer: if you think that I own Dragon Ball Z or anything pertaining to DBZ your logic is not only severely flawed but you may want to invest in a nice white room, with cushioned walls in your nearest insane asylum.

_YAY! Christmas Break is here at last, in celebration of this life-saving event, I'll try to write and update more often, but I am working on two other fanfics so it'll probably be about every other day or every other other day._

Chapter 5: Striking Back 

A week or so had passed since Piccolo had conquered the ice demon and ran into his newest enemy. He was waiting for the searching ghost to return, but it was taking longer than the other two, much longer. He was meditating after a strenuous training session when an idea came to him. It had been a while since he had been attacked by his old enemies, it seemed they would just leave him be. However, why shouldn't he attack them? It would be good training, even better experience, and would give him opportunities to form new attacks and control the Death Hand that he'd never get normally. That and it would be fun to teach them a lesson, he'd always hated not being able to stand up to Earth's threats, or save his home planet from destruction; now was his chance. Of course, he wouldn't go for the weaklings, there would be no sport or gain in that, but enemies like Buu and the combination of the stronger warriors would make excellent battle partners. He smirked, approving the idea, "_Who should I attack first? Perhaps Buu, yes, I haven't been able to really defeat him yet, I've gotten lucky or been able to escape, but never have I overpowered him."_

Piccolo wasn't really surprised when he saw the pink, child-like monster sleeping in a squatting position.

"Hey you ugly pink glob of snot, how about you get off your hindquarters and fight me," Piccolo jested, wanting to get his enemy angry so it would fight him at full power. Buu just glared at him with his red eyes.

Piccolo sneered, "That's right, I'm challenging you, or is that too much for your puny brain to comprehend?"

That did it, the little pink monster stood up, a rage-filled and blood curdling scream erupted from its mouth, it blew steam from the holes in its head and released an insane amount of chi. Piccolo threw of his cape and powered up as well. He unleashed just his normal chi, wanting to use the Death Hand only if he had to. The short pink thing and tall green man clashed, sparks of chi shooting out from wherever the two connected, the rocks near them exploding under the ferocity of their battle. These two warriors fought viciously for hours. Their tussle drawing hundreds of demon spectators rallying the fight on, they didn't care who was winning; they just reveled in the violence and bloodshed. Among them were all the other warriors that had plagued the Earth's Special Forces through the years. The battle raged on, both fighters had pushed past their limits and were worn out. Suddenly, Buu sprang into the air and formed a furious red ball of energy the size of Earth's moon, he sneered and unleashed it upon the Namek. Piccolo could have easily dodged it, but he wanted to see the extent of his growth, so he held his ground. The demons scuttled away in fright, not wanting to be incinerated by the blast. The green man raised his hands above his head, sending his energy to them quickly, "Masenko-HA!" His own yellow and purple chi sprang forth and the two super powers clashed. They struggled, Buu pressing downwards, the ground beneath Piccolo's feet quickly crumbled under the stress and he was made airborne as well.

The heat and pressure were enormous, Piccolo's body felt like it was liable to explode at any moment, he could no longer see his opponent, but he knew he was there, struggling hopefully as much as himself. He was losing chi fast, the intensity of his blast massively draining it away. He needed to tap into more power, he knew he had it too; it was very deep within him though, so deep he was unsure how to draw it out, as he always was. Inspiration struck him, "Never would I imagine doing this, but I need to think like Goku, what does he do to draw out the deeper energy?" At first, he wasn't sure, but it came to him, the warrior would use his emotions as a key. Piccolo allowed his emotional barriers to drop and embraced the incoming rage, this thing had killed Gohan, and it deserved to be punished. His arms went numb as the energy welled up from inside him and exploded; Buu never stood a chance. The sphere of energy was overcome by Piccolo's blast as was the evil kid Buu, an abrupt end to such a drawn out battle. Piccolo stopped his attack, panting heavily, his shirt had been completely shredded, his pants tattered and his body damaged, but considering his enemy, he'd fared well.

Not one to celebrate a victory, Piccolo just relaxed and prepared to take off to heal. The celebration would have been premature anyways, the next second, all his old enemies converged on him. He sent energy to the Death Hand, he dare not use anymore of his chi then that though or risk tapping into his core chi which is extremely bad for a living or dead warrior. The ghosts swelled about Piccolo as they crashed upon him, "Ghost Shell!" The souls formed a rigid force field that did not yield to the onslaught and in fact sent the attackers off in different directions away from it. Piccolo scanned the area, "_Sheesh, have I really made so many enemies through the year? Hmm… I can't take them all on, not with my energy so low, I'll have to break through_." He was locking on to the weakest part of the circle of enemies when they all started… arguing. They had completely forgotten about Piccolo, all were too busy bickering at who got the first turn at torturing him. If the Namek was Goku he would have burst out laughing, but he was not, nor was he thrilled with his next course of action, but it was necessary. He slipped by, his disappearance unnoticed until much later.

He had put a good distance between himself and the mob of old foes, so Piccolo settled down and began meditation. He was just about to delve deep into himself when he sensed a very familiar chi approaching him. He opened his eyes and got to his feet, facing the incoming person, a low growl escaped from his throat before he cut it off. The being landed.

"What the hell do you want?" Piccolo greeted.

"To give you a second chance," the Namek's father said slyly.

Piccolo scoffed, "Well take your second chance and get out of my sight." He turned so his back faced the man.

The older Namek chuckled, "Do not be so rash my youngest son, for you have awakened a very powerful demon who has set his sights on that Death Hand of yours. It would be wise to take me on as a… partner."

Piccolo laughed darkly, "Partner? So you can stab me in the back when the moment benefits you? I think not old man, I can handle myself, no matter who threatens me, now leave."

The older Piccolo lost his temper, he stormed over to his son, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around, "Now you listen to me boy-" his words were cut off with a choke as the younger Piccolo grabbed his neck with his left hand and lifted the man off the ground.

"No, you listen to me," Piccolo activated his Demon Eye, "you have many damned souls attached to you, and they're _dieing_ to get even with you and make your afterlife Hell, not the bliss you currently enjoy. I can give them that luxury, so don't piss me off old man, and leave me be," he released the demon who coughed and gasped for breath.

"You'll regret this," the older Namek hissed, "I'll make sure you never see Earth again!"

"GO!!" Piccolo Jr. bellowed; his father scrambled away.

The Namek returned to his meditations, allowing his irritation to spill into it and be crushed by the soothing tides of solitude. He hardly stirred for a long time; until his scout returned with the location of the next summon spirit.

_Sorry I took so long, I hope this story isn't becoming boring._

_Elieare_


	7. Chapter 6 Stirring Darkness

Disclaimer: No, I have not randomly gotten the rights to Dragon Ball Z, nor will I in the future, so please don't try to slap with a law suite I couldn't pay anyways.

_MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!_

Chapter 6: Stirring Darkness 

Piccolo flew over a forest that, if he were a more cowardly man, he would have called eerie. All the trees looked dead, like they were stuck in an eternal winter, and the grass that covered the earth that the trees had hooked their roots in was brown and untamed. Instead of bushes, there were tumbleweeds and tangles of dark thorns. "_Judging by the terrain, the next summon demon must harness the power of plants; that means both the fire and ice demon would be powerful against it_." "**Just don't summon both at the same time**." "_Why not_?" "**They'll fight each other if you do**." "_Well that's good to know_." Piccolo stopped abruptly, gazing at the spot that was supposed to be the opening of a tunnel. All he could see were thick, thorny vines. "_This must have been why the ghost had such a hard time finding it, the plants grow right over it." _Piccolo fired a small chi ball the thorns; he was surprised when they hardly burned at all and the remained intact for the most part_. "Hmph, these vines are something else_." He fired a more intense chi ball; it barely did anymore. He growled, "_Fine, let's see how they hold up against this_." "Special Beam Canon." That did the trick, Piccolo flew into the tunnel, he turned to an odd sound and saw the thorns cover the entrance again, leaving him in darkness, "_Persistent aren't they_?" He activated his Demon Eye and saw more vines covering the walls as he began his descent. He seemed to fly down endlessly, after awhile, he stopped and looked scrutinizingly at the vines. "_I'm back at the entrance, I've been going in circles! Then where is the_-" his thoughts were cut off abruptly as something shot at him from the vines. The thing was grabbing for him, its head was snakelike, its body more like a mongoose, its menacing talons gleamed like its neon green eyes. It lashed its tail; Piccolo dodged both attacks. Thorn-covered vines suddenly shot from its tail and tore through Piccolo's chest. Piccolo fired a hastily formed a Special Beam Cannon. The thing nimbly dodged with his flexible body. It jumped back into the vines, no, it became a part of the vines, and in an instant shot out again from the vines behind Piccolo, hitting him in the back and sending him crashing into a face-full of vines. However, this did allow Piccolo spot an emerald on its chest.

He fired at the jewel, but it dodged again and dove into the vines, this time its head sprang out from where Piccolo was stuck and clamped its jaws down on the Namek. The green warrior blasted the things eyes and held onto its head, dragging the creature out. The creature thrashed too wildly for him to retain his hold; he made another attempt to blast the emerald, but the thing just evaded again. "_This is getting nowhere, I haven't summoned the ice demon yet, so let's see what its like._" Piccolo wiped blood from his face with the back of his hand. He sent energy to the stained sapphire and quickly spoke the incantation. The ice demon sprang forth. It hissed at the now blind demon of plants, which growled back and became apart of the vines again. The ice demon grabbed onto the vines, and with its touch all of the thorns began freezing. The plant-using demon howled and jumped from the vines right before they froze solid. The ice demon latched on, exposing the emerald. Piccolo unleashed his newest attack; it pierced the emerald as it had the sapphire. The creature howled, the vines unfroze and, as customary, the statue appeared. A small emerald flew to the back of Piccolo's hand, vines shot from it, wrapping so tightly into his forearm it cut into him. That part of the arm dangled uselessly. "_Conditions_?" "**Same as the others, the incantation is: Ruler of leaf, grass tree and flower, bring your earthly powers to my aide and wreak havoc upon thy enemies**." "_Okay, how do I dismiss a summoned demon_?" "**Well, either run out of energy as you have before, or say, your power has crushed the foe before us, now return to your slumber until they threaten again**." Piccolo repeated the command and the ice demon was sucked back into the sapphire. Piccolo inspected his wounds, not nearly as bad as the first time. He was getting stronger, it wasn't just because of the summon demons aiding him. "_Hmmmm… next time, I won't summon one, not until I absolutely have to, let's see just how strong I can become_."

** :::: **

"Master, he's as you said."

"Good, let's see how strong he really is, let no one bother me servant."

"Yes Master."

** :::: **

"_Who are you? How did you get in here?"_

"_Darkness, pain, agony, the raven has flown, the dogs have mauled, the snakes have struck and the scorpions have stung."_

"_What?"_

"_Do you fear the dark?"_

"_Of course not."_

"_You should."_

"_What are you- arrrrrgh!"_

"_You have what I want, I do not know what imbecile gave you the Death Hand, but you aren't worthy of it."_

"_What are you- ugh, ah-arrrrrrrrrgh!!!"_

"_You think you know pain? You have yet to know what pain really is, you will though."_

"_AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!"_

Piccolo jolted from his meditation and collapsed, his body was on fire. He wasn't able to move for a couple of hours, and when he finally managed to sit up and prop himself up against the side of cliff. "What's happening to me? Argh!" His body convulsed, his vision clouded and that same raspy voice that had interrupted his meditation spoke again in the darkness, "_My familiars will strike, they will instill in you the feelings that will tear your mind and allow the Death Hand destroy you, then I can claim it_. _True darkness has been asleep for much too long, but now it stirs, and it comes for you_, " its maniacal laugh rang through Piccolo's mind. Piccolo grabbed his head, his nails dug into his temples, but the laughter continued. Piccolo tried to put up his mental barriers again, but they had never fallen, "_Then how did he get into my mind_?"

_Will Piccolo be swallowed by darkness? Fun stuff, eh? Well, until next time._

_Elieare_


	8. Chapter 7 First Strike

**Disclaimer: If you don't understand by this point that I don't own Dragon Ball Z, you never will.**

Sorry for the delay, a lot of depressing stuff happened and I just haven't felt like writing, but I finally got the urge to, so here's the next chapter.

Chapter 7: First Strike 

"Ha ha, foolish boy, you may be physically stronger than me, but you've forgotten, that we, like with you and Kami, are mentally connected. I wasn't able to use it much when you were on Earth, but here, you're mine." Piccolo Daimao sneered, as he looked down at his son, who was trying desperately to block the voice taunting him and causing him pain, the voice of the oldest and most powerful demon in Hell, the voice he had allowed to enter his son's mind through his own and their link.

"Your son is persistent, it will not be easy to break him," the dark voice of Piccolo's tormenter rasped from the shadows.

"No, it will not be, but it is possible, especially if he does not figure out how you are able to tap into his mind."

"It is difficult to remain when he is not meditating," the voice grunted.

"Yes, our link is at its strongest when he is meditating, in a way, it's the only time that his mind is vulnerable."

"Tell me Daimao, what would happen to your son if every time he tried to meditate I would cause him this pain?"

"He wouldn't be able to meditate at all, and if he doesn't meditate, his mind will grow weaker and weaker, as will his body, you see, for Nameks that is the closest we ever get to sleeping, it is the time we rejuvenate."

Glowing red eyes pierced the dark shadows as the demon released Piccolo, "Good, it is too difficult to keep a constant foot inside his mind, even with your link, but if I make sure he cannot meditate, it will have the same effect."

Piccolo Daimao sneered again, "Piccolo will break and the Death Hand will consume him," he laughed, "I told him I 'd make sure he'd never see Earth again."

** :: **

The pain suddenly stopped, Piccolo took deep heaving breaths and recovered himself. He stood up unsteadily, wondering why the intruder had suddenly retreated, and how he had gotten in for that matter. He looked around; there was not another soul in sight. Deep down he knew that this would not be the last encounter he would have with this… _thing_, but the first of many. "_I need to figure out how he's getting in, or I'll never stand a chance against him_." For now though, all he could do was keep training and wait, at least now he would be expecting another attack.

The rest of the day passed without incident, then, another of Piccolo's scouts came back with the location of the next summon spirit. Glad to have something to do, Piccolo embarked to its location. He had flown for hours again, the staggeringly large size of Hell made clear to him as he flew over what seemed like and ever-changing landscape with no end, sometimes he would see souls and demons about, being torture or doing the torture. After a certain point though, he saw no glimpse of another undead thing wandering about, just a large river, its black water rushing towards the direction in which Piccolo came from. The river led uphill, and finally, Piccolo came upon a massive waterfall, larger than any mountain Piccolo had laid eyes on, its crashing waters thundering so loud Piccolo felt like his eardrums would burst. He flew over to a specific spot in the waterfall and charged through it; it took almost all he had to not be swept downwards by its current, but he managed to get to the other side. The putrid yet familiar smell greeted Piccolo as he entered the tunnel, the floor was filled with water up to Piccolo's knees, it was trickling deeper down in towards what would most likely be an opening. As always, Piccolo activated the Demon Eye and tread through the water until the tunnel inclined so steeply he had to fly. He followed the flow of the water until he came to a great chamber, much like the one the fire demon dwelled in, but water was everywhere, dripping from the walls and pooled at the bottom. Piccolo landed on a rock, the earthy island among a sea of black water. Sounds echoed throughout the cavern, sounds of rushing water, dripping water and a low rumbling.

Another sound reverberated throughout the room, a scratching noise, and then a splashing as something fell into the water behind Piccolo, who turned around as quickly as he could. He saw the ripples of the black water but nothing more. He heard the water move behind him and again swirled around, this time, he met the gaze of two light blue and glowing eyes and a mass of matted, medusa like hair, its face from beneath its silted nose immersed in water. Piccolo felt his body freeze, trapped within the depths of the leviathan's stare. Only when it scaled and powerful tail shot out from the water behind him and dragged him deep below its dark surface was Piccolo able to move. He was able to get a better look at the creature. It had an almost human-like upper body attached to a long serpent's torso; the thing had two arms with clawed hands. It screeched at frequencies that busted both of the Namek's eardrums. Piccolo cringed as his hearing was replaced with pain. Then the sea monster struck. It was extremely fast, much faster than Piccolo could ever get under water, but its blows lacked substantial strength behind them. However, they were powerful enough to prevent him from reaching the surface. Piccolo swung at the creature the next time it passed, but the water weighed him down too much and he became to slow. His lungs screamed for air, the sea monster did not let up though; it continued its relentless pummeling. Piccolo aimed a chi blast at the island and fired, it forced him down, dodging the next barrage, then manipulated his blast to shoot him upwards and free from the water, but not from the monster; it wrapped itself around Piccolo and bit into his shoulder. Piccolo clenched his teeth and fired another blast at the creatures face; it hit. The thing screeched, although Piccolo couldn't hear it, and wrapped itself tighter around the Namek. Piccolo felt his bones start to bend and threatened to break, he hissed and stretched his arm and slammed his fist into the creature until it let go. It dove back for the water, exposing a gleaming sapphire (note, I changed the gem of the ice creature to an opal) but Piccolo grabbed it and thrust it into the wall, its face surrounded by the rock-face, then fired his Special Beam Cannon at the gem. Before the blast hit the thing squirmed free and fired a stream of steam from its mouth, it had been at such a high speed and under such a highly compressed and thus pressured that it tore through Piccolo and completely impaled him (yes, it's proven that steam, if pressurized enough, can cut through things such as human beings and stronger things actually. No, I have not seen it proven, but I pity the man who discovered this from first-hand experience, kinda like the guy who discovered you could scrape the impurities out of a vat of molten steel, but you have o use something that is near the temperature of the steel or you get it blown into your face and the rest of your upper body resulting in severe burns, okay I'm done with my science lesson).

Piccolo instinctively put his hand on the bleeding wound as the creature rammed into his chest, the Namek was able to prepare himself for the blow though, and as it hit, he fired another blast, this one hit and shattered its target. The creature violently thrashed, smacking Piccolo into the wall, then burst into pieces and formed a statue at the lone island among the dark water. A small sapphire flew from the statue and into Piccolo's left hand as usual. Pain surged through his forearm as it went limp, so limp that it seemed there were no bones in it, and it was heavy as if it were a sack filled with water. "_Incantation_?" "_**Queen of the sea, I call upon thee to unleash your wrath and crush all who oppose you with the thunderous tides of your dark waves. **_" Piccolo committed it to memory as he tore a piece of his cape off and used it to bandage his wound. He began flying to his normal place, going the same direction as the river this time, but fatigue suddenly washed over him so he decided to set down next to the river and meditate. The second he began his meditation pain slammed his mind and body, he struggled against the mindly grasp his enemy had on him, it took all he could to break free, as he came out of it he found himself on his back. He panted and cursed, "_Great, I can't meditate, not with that demon plaguing me like that, but if I can't meditate_…" his thought was cut off as he sensed the approach of something that formed an uneasy not in his stomach.

** :: **

"What luck," the demon overlord sneered, " I never imagined he'd meditate in my lands."

"I wonder what he was doing there in the first place," Piccolo Sr. replied.

"That is simple, he is collecting _his _summon spirits."

"You mean?"

"Yes, my brother's summon spirits, the soul that is the Death Hand, the soul I will control one day, muahahahaha, and Piccolo has fallen right within the territory of one of my familiars! He has practically given me the Death Hand without even knowing it!"

Even Piccolo Sr. could not help but shudder at this demons maniacal laughter.

_ Evil grin I love cliffhangers. Again, I'm sorry it took so long, please review!_

_Elieare_


	9. Chapter 8 Torture and the Test Begins

Disclaimer: There are seven other chapters all saying the same thing: I do not own DBZ. I'm sorry; I'm just a high school kid with no life and no job.

I'm a pesky fool. A pesky fool who can write so here you go.

Chapter 8: Torture and the Test Begins 

Piccolo found himself locking eyes with a giant black dog with flaming red eyes and knife-like ivory fangs. The fire-sporting demon dog and the weakened Namekian warrior clashed. The two literally fought for weeks until suddenly the dog backed off and sat down, as if it were waiting for something. Piccolo would normally use this opening to his advantage, but he needed to catch his breath. His arm was still useless; the battle had not allowed the gem to collaborate to him yet. He felt his knees buckle beneath him. He suddenly felt two more chis appear behind and above him, as if they had teleported there. One was a soaring black raven with the same fiery eyes as the dog; the other a giant black scorpion, its crimson eyes greedily locked on the Namek. The scorpion raised its tail and struck, Piccolo moved to dodge but the raven released a piercing screech that cut through not only Piccolo's ears but his mind as well and immobilized him. The poisonous barb punctured Piccolo's chest. The Namek staggered backwards, he instantly felt the effects of the toxin. A third chi appeared beneath him, and as he fell into unconsciousness a giant black snake coiled about him.

Incoherent images blurred together forming a muddled picture, as if watching the world through glass with many rough edges. A few piercing voices, cutting through the confusion, and pain, unfathomable and endless pain. Movement was constricted, mind failing, body failing and a voice, louder than the external one, rang through his head. "_**I am the Death Hand, you now belong to me**_."

"No." Piccolo sputtered through coughs of blood as he pulled himself from this semi-conscious state.

"No? To what?" The voice that had tormented him earlier in his meditations sneered. This time though, there was a face to face with the voice. It is a harsh face, with protruding cheekbones and a hard jaw-line. It's pronounced brow making its eyes appear sunken within its head and its snaggle-tooth fangs denoting a sense of savageness. And savage this being certainly was. The man continued to speak; ranting about how the Death Hand belongs to him, how soon it would be under his control and how foolish his brother is. Piccolo ignored him, he focused his efforts inwardly, he needed to bar his mind from that of the Death Hand's. Piccolo knew he should have been getting progressively weaker, but he wasn't. On the contrary, he was now regaining his strength at an increasingly faster rate. "_What's happening? Why am I gaining power_?" He felt it building, at first he thought it was coming from the Death Hand. Soon he realized it was originating from him, building from his stomach. "_Perhaps my training has paid off more than I thought."_

"_**Yes, you are ready to ascend to the next level, a level none of my previous host have been able to reach**_." Piccolo felt a sudden surge from the Death Hand join the power in his stomach. Piccolo felt as if every cell of his body had exploded, he convulsed violently. His left side burned and began to transform. Much to the surprise of his capturer, Piccolo broke free and went on a rampage, his body tearing down anyone and anything within his path as the minds of the Death Hand and Piccolo battled for control.

Piccolo Sr. sensed the sudden surge from the safety of an inner chamber. He swiftly disposed of the demon servant and slipped away.

Meanwhile, the raging Piccolo battled with the brother of the Death Hand. A black hard coating formed armor around Piccolo's left side, it changed his arm to long clawed hand; the coating continued up his arm, form a jutting talon at his elbow then continued up to his neck, traveling down the left side of his back and causing a single long, black tattered wing; it then traveled down his leg, another talon at hi knee and a clawed foot. At last it covered the left side of his face, the white of his eyes trading colour with the obsidian of his pupil and the pupil becoming a demonic red, at the temple of his forehead a long, sharp horn formed and shocks of grey spikey hair covered that half of his head. The transformation could go no further though; Piccolo was holding it back. The battle raged on between the two, they seemed of equal power until Piccolo unleashed an enormous burst of energy that disintegrated almost everything within a radius so large it could be seen no matter what ones position within Hell was.

Piccolo stood in the middle of the destruction and the black armor returned into the Death Hand, he had won control, as well as a new level of power. He left the scene to a place he could meditate. Little did he know, someone stirred beneath the rubble, one whom does not take vengeance lightly. That was hardly the pressing matter on Piccolo's mind though, he felt physically and mentally exhausted and knew he could do nothing until he fixed that.

A while passed, Piccolo found himself at a strength that rivaled that of Goku, without the use of the Death Hand; with the Death Hand activated there seemed no limit to his power. Especially after he had found all of the summon spirits. His old enemies dare not threaten him, and his father seemed to have disappeared deep within the realm of Hell. Piccolo heard nothing more than whispers about the brother of the Dead Hand. Many said the demon was dead, but Piccolo's gut told him he was just gathering power, but he had to put that on the back burner, for King Kai brought him news.

Piccolo looked at the yellow clouds surrounding Snake Way, then at the stout, blue, sunglass sporting jokester. It was a very sudden and unexpected scenery change from Hell to this, "Never dawned upon you to warn me before you drag me here did it?"

King Kai gave a single snort-like laughter, "Well, I didn't think you were having such a helluva time down there so I figured you wouldn't mind." He broke out in a pot-bellied laugh. Piccolo waited for the laughing fit to pass. "Well, anyways, according to my records you've served the minimum sentence in Hell Piccolo." "Okay? So what does that mean?"

"It means you can start the Test of Rebirth."

"_Finally_," Piccolo thought, but all he did was nod, "What is my first task?"

"Well, you've actually all ready completed it. You see the first task was to defeat all of the summon spirits for the Death Hand. SO since that is out of the way, you will enter into a TDP."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow, "TDP?"

"Yes, a Time Displaced Planet. Throughout the universe there is a certain phenomenon that can envelope a planet and cause it to fall into a different rate of time, either faster or slower, than the rest of the universe. Since there is a time constraint in your case, I have requested that the strength of both your physical and character be tested on a TDP in which three years will pass for you, but only a week will pass for everyone in normal time. The others weren't thrilled with this idea, but they found a planet more than suitable for testing."

"Good, then get me there."

King Kai became serious, an oddity in and of itself, "Piccolo, this test will make your time in Hell seem like nothing. I looked into the planet your going to; there are a few who hold all the power and the majority of the wealth, but a fairly decent middle class, and then a group known as Ukgars (outcasts). These people are forced to live on the streets of the ghettos, they are forced to work long hours in labor camps and mines without pay. The government is supposed to be supplying food and shelter for these Ukgars, but they don't, and no one really cares. The skies are always cloudy, with frequent rain during the day, with the temperature mild, but at night the temperature drops so dramatically that even you will freeze to death if you do not find shelter. You will be an Ukgar, and what's more, your will have a device injected into you that will allow you to only tap into the your chi in the amount that an untrained human would have. It will not be easy, after all, this is a test designed for failure."

"Just get me there."

"Good luck."

_Hope you liked._

_Elieare_


	10. Chapter 9 Trial and Tribulations

Disclaimer: Um, hello

Disclaimer: Um, hello? Look where you are…now use your brain a little (brain what's that?)… okay now do you really think anyone writing here owns the rights to the awesome cannon characters presented in our stories? The answer should be no (in case your logic failed you.) Yeah, I'm a sarcastic person 

_Hi, bows a million times sorry, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to leave the story alone for so long, but I had SAT and AP testing and I've been working on an original story (which I'd post here if I was allowed to), so this kinda got put on the back burner. Again, I apologize, anyways; I'm on summer break now so I'll do better._

Chapter 9: Trials and Tribulations

Piccolo cautiously glanced around him as he shuffled "home" after the fight. He was loaded with cash from his victory and liable to be attacked, although he wasn't too worried, since nighttime had recently fallen and it was all ready too cold for most of the other Ukgars to roam about. It wasn't cold enough to get to him though, it was starting to be, but he'd reach the run-down shack him and the other members of the FFA (Freedom For All) Guild sheltered themselves in. His fight had gone badly, even if he did win it, he was injured severely, his kneecap was most certainly broken, and without access to his chi he had no way of speeding up the healing process. He was also certain he had severe internal injuries; the impact of his exoskeleton-bearing opponent had done more damage than he'd like to admit. He was hungry too, an inconvenience he discovered upon his arrival here. He'd never had to eat before, and it turns out the reason for that was Nameks absorbed sunlight for nutrients. However, the sun never gave off enough rays for it to fulfill Piccolo's needs.

His injured leg suddenly gave out; Piccolo grabbed onto the nearest wall and took a small breather, "_How long have I been doing this? It's been so long… I don't remember, there's no way to keep track of time here. It's been a long time though… perhaps my time here is almost done_…" he wasn't sure how he felt about that. He stumbled towards the door to he Guild's hideout; darkness was starting to envelope him. He reached for the door, his vision clouded, the door opened, Piccolo could make out the face of the young boy whom he had befriended on the streets. "Piccolo!" The child shouted. He was the reason for Piccolo's mixed feelings about leaving. They had grown as close, if not closer, than Gohan and Piccolo had. The boy helped him into the safe house as the Namek passed out.

"Hey Piccolo, wake up, you're going to be late for work," the child shook him lightly.

"Ugh, okay, okay, I'm awake Syrus, I'm awake." He gritted his teeth as he sat up. His knee was healed.

"Tork let me use some of the heal-all medicine on your knee."

"Why, we don't have a lot of that, we need to use it sparingly."

"Piccolo, if we hadn't used it your leg would have been completely immobile. You couldn't have made it to work at all, much less survive it."

Piccolo grimaced, "Do we have anything to eat?"

"Um, just a little bread, Shyrl and I are going to buy some food after school today," Syrus offered the bread to the Namek.

"It will have to do," Piccolo took it and stood up, "Well, come on, we can't afford to be late."

For work that day they were making new tunnels in the underground mine. His digging partner was Hurak, a fellow FFA member, but also not very strong and he was extremely ill. Piccolo tried to make up for the man but the Overseer noticed. The man (if you could call the monster a man) came over, tripped Hurak and spit on him, "What's wrong little weakling? Can't take the pressure?" He kicked him in the ribs. Piccolo stopped digging, dropped the pick he was using and stared the man in the face.

"Piccolo, don't," Hurak coughed.

Piccolo looked down at the man.

The Overseer laughed, his pungent breath stinging Piccolo's nose, "That's right green coward, just get back to work and ignore your incompetent friend's punishment."

Piccolo turned.

"That's right, you no-good dead beat. You're the only one who matters, and that doesn't count for much," he laughed.

Piccolo smirked, then quickly spun around and punched the man in the jaw, knocking him out. The line of workers all started laughing, some clapped. The other Overseers rushed over, one shot an energized beam that stunned Piccolo.

Piccolo found himself limping home late again, although this time not nearly as injured, they scumbags at work may be low, but they weren't really more powerful than him. Nighttime hadn't completely fallen yet though, and he was hungry, he had a little cash on him so he stopped by a soup shop, the owner of which was a secret FFA supporter.

"Hey, Bretta, my usual please."

"Coming right up, you look like Hell Piccolo. Bad day?"

"Well, I had a fight last night then I was penalized for punching out an Overseer at work."

"Why did you do that?"

"He was beating on Hurak."

"Ah, you know, I admire you for that. You are the only Ukgar I know that sill resists and does what's right like you do," she served him.

"Thanks, but I'm not doing nearly enough."

They continued talking until Piccolo finished, he gave her what little he had, it wasn't enough to pay for the soup but she didn't mind.

As Piccolo turned the corner, he saw soldiers marching his way, he ducked out in an alley, and he wasn't in the mood to mess with them. After they passed, he walked the rest of the way, but when he opened the door he was met with something that made him want to mess with them.

"Piccolo, don't do anything foolish," someone said. He wasn't sure whom though; all he could really hear was the pounding of his heart as his rage boiled. All he could see was Hurak, Tork, Shyrl, Kleyrl, Jalva and Syrus on the floor, all dead.

"Why?" Was all he could say.

"They said they had to make an example of them, they did it in front of everyone at work and school. You were all ready in isolation. They just dropped their bodies off right now."

Piccolo turned and charged out, "Piccolo! DON'T!"

He followed in the direction he remembered the guards going, all he could think of was the promise he made Syrus a couple of weeks ago: "_Kid, I'm going to be leaving soon, but listen, I swear to you, one day, I will return, and I will take you and whoever else wishes away from here and I will overthrow the government that has forced us to live like this. Remember that, because they are not hollow words._" They were now. He saw the troop, he attacked them, if this had been earlier in his stay he wouldn't have stood a chance, he had been painfully weak, never realizing ho much he relied on his excess of chi, but now, he was stronger than he'd ever been. The armor of the guards dented and broke, they kept shooting and stabbing him, but he was too enraged to notice, he just kept attacking, and then suddenly there was nothing around him. No light, no sound, nothing. His hands were bound behind him, but he found he couldn't move anyways, he couldn't speak either.

Finally, a familiar voice rang out, "Hey Piccolo, good job you passed the physically part of your TPD portion of the exam. Now comes the hardest part, the trial, it's the last phase of the Test of Rebirth. You must convince a council of twelve that you are worthy to be reborn. It won't be easy, after all, it will be a fight of words, and you are accustomed only to fights of fists. It will begin shortly, so look alive! Ha ha get it? Look _alive_, whoo hoo, I crack myself up sometimes."

Suddenly, Piccolo found himself standing in front of twelve figures, their faces hidden in the shadows. The one in the middle boomed, "You, why do you believe your pathetic self deserves to return to the living?"

Piccolo replied snidely, "Always a good way to start things off."

The council deliberated with Piccolo for hours, then took an hour break. When they returned they began again, about thirty minutes in when the figure in the middle said, "You have made claims that you are not an evil man, even provided proof with your sacrifices and battles to save Earth, but tell me, what proof do you have that it wasn't all fake? A plot for you to gain the trust of your enemies, lull them into a false sense of security so you can kill them? What proof do you have that even now, the only reason why you haven't killed us all is the fact that your hands are bound behind you?"

The other shadow-shrouded figures all muttered and whispered.

Piccolo waited for the roar to die a little and then said, "First off, do you really think I'm in any position to kill anyone on Earth right now, and at the time that I decided to die I cannot imagine how that could possibly be beneficial to me in anyway, seeing how I thought I would blissfully waste the rest of my afterlife in heaven. Oh, and as for me killing you now," he broke his bonds, teleported in front of the middle councilman and held an energy blast centimeters from his face, "I would have done it a long time ago." He returned to the center and crossed his arms over his chest.

"… The council will convene and return with our decision."

Piccolo saw King Kai's face suddenly appear.

"Piccolo, what were you thinking?! No one has ever done that to them before! You may have just ruined your chance!"

"Tell me this, who before me has passed?"

"No one."

He grinned, "Then I have a better chance."

"…I suppose. Piccolo, you sure have changed."

"Have I?"

He then found himself before the council.

"That's really a little annoying, haven't you heard of warnings?"

"Piccolo Jr. You have presented your case before the council. You have a dark origin and were sentenced to Hell upon your death; you have been rude and brazen, bold and unfearing of our power. And most of all you have guts. We of the council have not seen such ferocity of spirit in any of the previous candidates, nor the nobility and change you have managed, it is our pleasure to grant you the right to walk among the living once more."

_There you go, nice long chapter. Please review!!_

_Elieare_


	11. Chapter 10:Welcome to Living

Disclaimer: Eh, I don't own it 'kay

Disclaimer: Eh, I don't own it 'kay?

A million apologies, in my defense, I did have a hardware crash and this chapter was the only one I did not have backed up so I did have to rewrite it, but yeah, some of, okay, a lot of it was me procrastinating. So sorry.

**Chapter 10: Welcome to Living**

THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER FOR THIS STORY IT WILL HAVE A SEQUEL THOUGH I SWEAR

Gohan suddenly jumped to his feet, the papers he had so diligently been working on scattered and the chair clattered to the floor. He closed his eyes and focused on the disturbance that had startled him from his studies, "What is that thing?" he mumbled to himself. The phone rang, breaking his concentration.

"Hello?"

"Gohan, are you feeling that thing coming towards us?"

"Yes, it's almost here."

"Oh man, what is it?"

"I have no idea Goten, but we should assume the worst. Are you with Trunks?"

"Yeah."

"Okay good, go on ahead and evacuate all the people in it's landing area, I'll get Vegeta and meet you there in a couple of minutes."

"Okay, I'll see you there."

"Right."

After the odd creature landed, it proved its hostilities and the four Saiyans were forced to engage it. However, they found that none of their attacks had any effect on the being; it was as if there was nothing there to hit. The monster on the other hand, a twisted form of grey that somewhat resembled a giant lizard with no back legs and the horns and eyes of a demon, had no difficulty in attacking them.

"Damn, what is this thing?!" Gohan said in frustration from a distance.

"We have to find away to hit this thing, otherwise we're just sitting ducks!" Trunks exclaimed.

"Yeah, but what are we supposed to do?" Goten panted after dodging a sphere of energy from the thing.

Vegeta yelled, "Enough, we are Super Saiyans, no matter what the thing is it's not stronger than us."

The four charged again but it batted Trunks and Goten away effortlessly. Vegeta dodged the daemon's teeth as it snapped at him and Gohan found himself smashed against a nearby building with a sweep from its tail. He was stunned for only a moment, but it was more than ample opportunity for the beast to come in for the killing blow. Gohan couldn't move in time, he clenched his teeth and shut his eyes. He felt someone's hand on his shoulder and when he opened his eyes, he saw he had somehow been transported away. He looked up and saw a Namek in a grey gi with a black belt, vest, and elbow high, fingerless glove on his left arm.

"Th-thank you."

"No problem kid."

"P-PICCOLO!!" He sprang up and grabbed his old mentor's shoulders, "You're alive!"

Piccolo nodded, "Just about."

"What do you mean?"

"All I have to do now is destroy that thing," he replied glaring and the creature, "You and the others back off and let me fight it alone."

"Well… okay, but look none of our attacks work against it, you don't stand a chance!"

"Yes I do. This thing is in between the living and the dead, although more dead than living, so objects and people of the living world can see it but not touch it, however it can completely interact with the living. So, the only thing that can stop it; is something from the world of the dead." He took of the black glove and Gohan shivered as a dark energy seeped from Piccolo's hand. With a burst of darkness Piccolo teleported in front of the beast and blasted it with a mixture of his and the Death Hand's chi.

The creature was taken aback, but when it saw the Death Hand, it suddenly went berserk. Piccolo fought against the creature's rage, but its power kept dramatically increasing and it became clear he would be over powered. He teleported some distance away and focused on his cursed hand, "Dark Fusion, twenty-five percent!" The mark of the Death Hand glowed and Piccolo's chi increased tenfold as the Death Hand's raw energy transformed the left side of his body into grey, wrinkle-textured skin and his left eye became that of a demon. The two dark powers clashed again, until they reached the limit of that state. The creature roared and transformed, it now had two legs and two arms, with black plates covering it ever so often. It moved so fast that a razor-sharp gale of demonic wind tore through Piccolo, slicing vertically from his waist to his shoulder. "Dark Fusion fifty-percent!" The other half of Piccolo's body turned grey, mirroring his left side as his wound healed itself. The ghostly being screeched and a summon spirit, another twisted form of grey, in a shape reminiscent of a dragon appeared from the sky. Piccolo bit his finger, "**Summoning: I offer my blood and one hundred of the wretched souls I have collected and ask for your strength, King of the Dragons of the Underworld, mightiest of the beasts of Hell: Berialyck!**" A great black dragon shot out from the cracked earth and on Piccolo's command attacked the grey dragon. Meanwhile, the two Summoners continued to tussle until Piccolo shot a burst of ghost and demon energy that paralyzed his opponent for a second. Berialyck defeated its enemy and returned to Hell to rest and Piccolo transported away.

"Time to end this, Dark Fusion, one-hundred percent." The dark armor covered his entire body, black wings sprouted from his back, Sharp horns grew from his forehead, shocks of white hair appeared on his normally bald head, and six tails thrashed from behind. No longer recognizable, the Namek charged. His enemy shot a massive beam of energy, but Piccolo countered, "Sorrow's Cannon." A twisting beam of black energy, which seemed to wail in pain and fear tore through the grey blast and hit the creature. Piccolo swooped in after the beam, a massive amount of energy focused onto the Death Hand, "Soul Drain." He touched the creature, it screamed in agony and with a blinding flash of light the two vanished.

Piccolo opened his eyes and saw nothing but white, much like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. A figure appeared before him, an almost human-looking man with light-blue skin and dark blue hair. He opened his eyes, revealing golden, piercing eyes.

"Who are you," Piccolo asked.

"I am the being you were just fighting, well, at least this is my original form."

"What?"

"Is that the Death Hand?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

The man looked grief-stricken as he said, "For I too was one chosen to use the Death Hand, I am your predecessor. They didn't tell me, doubtless they didn't tell you either. Now that you have the Death Hand you will never be allowed to die unless the Council of Universal Order decides you have served the universe sufficiently, which will never happen. It didn't for me, even though I tried for over two hundred centuries. What's worse is, the constant mental struggle between you and the Death Hand slowly drives you insane my predecessor managed to hold out against for several hundred years longer than me, and the one before only lasted fifty years. Then, when your mind can take no more you go on a rampage, although that happens a handful of times prior, this one is different. This one you can't win against, all you can do is watch as you slaughter all your family and friends, and destroy planet after planet until finally you can take no more. Your soul is practically forced from your body, turning you into the mindless beast you saw and fought me as. You become nothing more than a wretched and primitive predator that goes from planet to planet feeding on souls to sustain its existence for reasons unknown. My time is almost up, I impart to you what was left by my predecessor, he was working on a way to avoid the insanity and I continued it, obviously unsuccessfully, I hope you fair better."

He closed his eyes and a string of white went from his forehead to Piccolo's, once the transfer was complete, everything faded away.

Piccolo found himself back on Earth, the beast gone and the new information he had just been given running through his head. He suddenly felt weak, and searing pain shot through him for transforming completely and using so much of the Death Hand's abilities. He clenched his teeth, forcing the power of his curse back to his left hand through blinding agony. When he finally contained it enough, he materialized another of the black glove he had been wearing, a special curse-binding cloth that held the curse in. This done he gasped and allowed himself to pass out. He was finally alive again, but at what cost?

_Muhaha, that is the end of Welcome to Dying: One Namek's Struggles in the Bowels of Hell. Why? Um, well he's not dead or in Hell anymore. I'm not sure what the sequel will be called yet though. Maybe The Darkness of Light or Welcome to Living: One Namek's Struggles with the Curse or some variation of that. Don't expect it soon though, I mean look how long this took me. Well, hope you enjoyed._

_Elieare_


End file.
